Germany Archives - Page 108 of 108

Leaked German military documents

The Guardian. 2017. A leaked defence document has revealed the country’s worries about the breakup of the global order – a scenario with serious consequences for post-Brexit Britain.

The German defence ministry set out its worst-case scenario for the year 2040 in a secret document that was leaked to Der Spiegel last week: “EU enlargement has been largely abandoned, and more states have left the community … the increasingly disorderly, sometimes chaotic and conflict-prone, world has dramatically changed the security environment.”

The 120-page-long paper, entitled Strategic Perspective 2040, is a federal government policy document – and the scenarios it imagines are grimly realistic: an east-west conflict in which some EU states join the Russian side or a “multipolar” Europe, where some states adopt the Russian economic and political model in defiance of the Lisbon treaty.

Inside Outside

When it comes to sharing information Germans work from their core team outwards. With each outer organisational concentric circle they become more careful, at times even wary, of sharing valuable internal information.

Role in Teamwork

Germans see knowledge as the team’s primary capital. They are keen to protect and expand their knowledge base. As individual colleagues. As individual teams. Germans are particularly sensitive to how and with whom that capital is shared.

Get vs. Give

Holschuld: Hol from holen, to get + Schuld meaning debt. Holschuld means get-debt or get-obligation. In Germany if a colleague has information important to your work, you are obligated to request that information.

Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance is of such extraordinary importance to Germans that it is embedded in their labor laws, in how their companies treat their employees, in their expectations as a society.

Advancement

Most Germans hope to advance within the hierarchies of their organisations. But only if it is line with their area of expertise and work experience.

Contingency

Because Germans believe in discipline – in sticking to a plan – they plan for less unforeseen circumstances. Instead, they build in room for quick adjustments based on the situation on the ground.

Thirty Years War

The Thirty Years’ War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle, famine, and disease, while some areas of what is now modern Germany experienced population declines of over 50%.

Germans foughts against Germans.

German Reunification Negotiations (1990)

The reunification of East and West Germany required complex negotiations involving the Four Allied Powers, NATO, and the Warsaw Pact. Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher employed a meticulously planned, methodical approach, preparing extensive legal frameworks to ensure a smooth transition. They insisted on clarifying every legal, financial, and political detail, ensuring that nothing was left open to interpretation.